Rice & Tabasco

New Iberia, Louisiana: After a less than restful night of sleep in the casino parking lot, we hit the highway east early this morning, arriving in New Iberia even before check-out time. No worries, they were happy to let us have an empty campsite.

Bumper sticker of the day: GIT R DUN

We are in New Iberia for two reasons: to visit a rice mill and to visit the nearby Tabasco plant on Avery Island. Food. It is a little hobby of ours.

First stop, Konriko Rice/Conrad Mills, America's oldest rice mill. They also are the exclusive growers of a fragrant nutty rice known as Pecan Rice.

This rice mill processes millions of pounds of rice a year, yet they only have 23 employees.
This includes the tour guides and bookkeeper.


The owner "Mr. Mike" (Mike Davis) really does love rice


Conrad Rice Mill

We had a tour of the ancient facility. The process is simple. First the rice is brought to the mill and the hull is removed. (Hulls are given away as landscape mulch, ground cover, animal bedding, etc.) The result is brown rice. If they need white rice, the bran is removed from brown rice by polishing. (The bran is used as animal feed. Broken rice bits are sold to brewers to make beer.) Nothing is wasted. The machinery used in the factory is from Germany, purchased in the 1920s. When the machine arrived, it had a steam engine - and has now been converted to electricity. The factory itself is on the historic register - and they have a great gift shop!

< Our tour guide

Next on our agenda was a return trip to Avery Island for a tour of the Tabasco plant. We visited in 2002 and didn't find a lot changed today - but still enjoyed the gorgeous setting and sampling the sauces.

Tabasco Sauce factory


Bottling Tabasco Pepper Sauce


Today they were bottling Tabasco for Germany - with labels in German.
Tabasco is labeled in 20 different languages.

We were given a tour, learned the history of the sauce and Avery Island, shown a video and then turned loose in the museum and gift shop. Avery Island is a large island, made almost entirely of salt, boundaried by only a few feet of swampy water. (The bridge can't be 30 feet long. Visitors are charged $1 to enter the island - still unsure as to why.) There is nothing on the island except the factory, worker cabins, the Jungle Gardens and Bird Sanctuary and private homes of the McIlhenny family. There is no charge for the tour, but admission is charged to drive through the gardens and bird nesting area - oh, and they give you lots of of free sauce samples!

Spicy fish bait? Art on Avery Island.


The Country Store gift shop


Relax on the front porch of the Country Store


Or... go nuts inside. Tabasco has a fun gift shop!

Next we spent about two hours driving through the Jungle Gardens on Avery Island. Ned McIlhenny, son of the Tabasco founder, was born on Avery Island in 1872. He founded the bird sanctuary to save the near-extinct snowy egret and built a garden on the island with over about 1,000 different camellias, exotic tropical fruits and hundreds of other interesting plant species. It was about 70 degrees and foggy, misty and even sometimes rainy today. This weather made for a very interesting drive - and we saw so many animals (heron, right). Many times we left the car and walked to see the sights.

Live Oak dripping with moss.
The one-way road winds around the island - and we didn't see another car all afternoon!


Avery Island is separated from the mainland by Bayou Petit Anse


Didn't see alligators in this lagoon... but we did see many turtles, birds - and deer nearby


Old Boat House


Arch made with holly


900 year old Buddha resides inside this temple


The Buddha looks across the pond to this bridge... where  a heron was taking refuge from the rain


Camellias


Azaleas


A great observation deck has been built over the lagoon (swamp) where the snowy egrets nest


Swampy bayou... lagoon... place


The birds are nesting now


Wind-blown Snowy Egret


Egrets nesting

One last stop! It is Mardi Gras next week and New Iberia isn't immune to the pre-lent festivities. Mardi Gras isn't just celebrated in New Orleans, you know. While I was at the post office this morning, the locals raved about the King Cake from Fremin's Food & Furniture. What? Yep, you read it right. It is a grocery store, bakery and furniture store. Well, we had to see Fremin's and buy a King Cake!

When we arrived at the store, imagine our surprise when we learned not only can you buy a King Cake, groceries and furniture at Fremin's - they will do your taxes or make a pay-day loan. It is also a liquor store and fire works shop. Who knew!

Traditional King Cake - we bought a pecan cake. Traditionally a metal baby (Jesus) is baked into the cake and the person finding the baby in their slice is obligated to buy the cake next year. I guess due to health laws and probably a lot of broken teeth, the baby is now plastic and comes in the center of the cake so you can pop him inside a slice if you wish.


Like a giant sticky roll... with a plastic baby.

Much later... we enjoyed a very nice meal at Clementine's in downtown New Iberia. DT had a shrimp and pasta dish and I ate every bite of my red snapper. So healthy!

Grilled red snapper on a bed of spinach and caramelized onions, topped with mung bean sprouts

Our work is done here. Tomorrow we continue east. Until my next update, I remain your swampy correspondent.

RV Park: KOC Kampground. Grassy back-in full hook-up site with 50 amp. We paid $27.